Sirius' Mistake
by Belldere
Summary: Truly he thought he was just playing a funny prank to teach a git a lesson but when he sees what it does to his best friends, Sirius has to admit he was horribly wrong and try to find a way for them to forgive him. No matter what it takes.
1. Chapter 1

Sirius and Peter were sitting on their respective beds in their dormitory.

The former was nonchalantly flipping through a magazine while the latter was trying to finish off a particularly tough essay set by Professor Binns when the door to their room flew open with a bang as James stepped in, looking furious.

Sirius didn't seem to notice his best friend's anger as he looked up excitedly from his magazine "Did it work? Did he fall for it?"

James slammed the door behind him and turned to glare lividly at Sirius.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" James hissed, it was then that Sirius realised how dirty and bedraggled James looked, his clothes were torn and a bruise was darkening on his jaw.

Sirius dropped his magazine in shock and sat up straighter "What happened to you?" he gaped, wide eyed.

James pointed accusingly at him and ignored the question "You could have killed him! I almost died trying to save him! Do you know what that would have done to Remus if he'd bitten Snape? Or worse, killed him? You could have ruined his whole life and you don't even care!"

Honestly Sirius thought it might have been a laugh but he was becoming increasingly sick with himself.

"Didn't you give a damn how this would have affected Remus? He NEVER would have been able to forgive himself if something had happened" Truth be told Sirius HADN'T thought of how Remus would feel and immediately knew he had done something, not only remarkably stupid, but also unforgivably cruel. Sirius had never seen James so angry, especially not at him.

His stomach dropped as he spluttered "James I- I'm sorry! I didn't think-"

"Ha! Of course you didn't think" James laughed humourlessly "Would you have even cared if Snape had gotten hurt? What about me? Would you have cared if Remus tore me to shreds and had to live with the guilt? Oh yeah, you don't care about anyone but yourself!" James held his glare, before looking away disgustedly "Come on Peter, let's go see how Remus is" Peter slid off the bed obediently and scurried out the door.

Sirius scrambled to his feet "Please, I'll come with you…"

"Piss off Sirius, I don't want you anywhere near him. You've done enough damage" then James left, slamming the door behind him.

Sirius sat down uselessly and stared at the door, unable to believe what had just happened.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day Sirius woke up alone.

All his friends' beds were made, so that meant that they hadn't returned that night.

He gave up all hope that his fight with James had just been a horrible dream and dressed quickly, hoping to plead and apologise and beg for their forgiveness.

Sirius was so eager to talk to them that he didn't think of what he could say, so as soon as he spotted them seated near the middle of the table he slowed down nervously.

His stomach squirmed uncomfortably but he wasn't a Gryffindor for nothing; Sirius took a deep breath and walked on cautiously the rest of the way forward.

He stopped abruptly when he was directly behind James and Remus. Peter was looking determinedly at his plate and Remus and James did not even turn around.

Sirius didn't know what to say "H-hi" he tried.

They ignored him.

He took another deep breath and started again shakily "Look, guys, I am so sorry. I know what I did was stupid but can… can we please just forget it? I made a mistake. I really didn't mean to hurt anyone."

Remus turned around slowly and looked up at him blankly; his eyes empty "You used me."

Sirius winced and swayed on his feet as though those three simple words had struck him like a physical blow "No I would never-! Remus… I- I didn't mean it like that! You have to believe me-"

"Go away Sirius, looking at you… it makes me sick" he interrupted hollowly, turning away.

"Remus please-" He tried again.

"I don't think we can be friends anymore" Remus said quietly, still not looking at him.

Sirius' chest tightened painfully and he was almost gasping for air.

"Moony -"

James' foot slammed down on the floor as he stood to face Sirius in the aisle with a look that almost made Sirius recoil "I always thought you were different" he hissed, almost nose to nose with Sirius "different from your twisted family but do you know who would have gotten a kick out of your prank?" he sneered "your beloved cousin Bellatrix."

With a thrill of horror Sirius realised that he was right "James-"

"Just go Sirius!" James burst out, glaring furiously angry at him "just leave us alone" he added throwing his knife back onto the table before he stormed off.

Remus rose quietly and followed after him, averting his gaze from Sirius and Peter stood timidly, whispered "Sorry" apologetically then sped away.


	3. Chapter 3

It took until nightfall when everybody was getting ready for bed before Sirius was able to speak to them again.

He stepped into the room and closed the door carefully behind himself before turning to face his friends.

James looked livid, Remus had the same emotionless, haunted, expression he had had at lunch plastered across his face and Peter just looked as though he wished he were anywhere but there.

Sirius took a deep breath "I know… I know what I did… what I did was so, so stupid a-and I know that it won't be easy but you have to believe me! The thing with Snape- I never wanted anyone to get hurt, especially not you James. And Remus, I would never EVER use you intentionally, I just… I didn't think. I will never be able to tell you how sorry I am but… you have to believe that I am. I'm not like my family, I don't want anyone to get hurt" another wave of sickness washed over Sirius as the image of James, dead, and Remus, broken, flashed across his mind "I would never want to hurt any of you" he whispered.

Nobody replied. James just yanked his pyjamas on more aggressively than what was warranted while the others continued to get ready for bed.

Sirius felt as if his throat had closed up all of a sudden "Please don't stop talking to me. Please. You guys are the only family I have. You make me better than I am. I know I'm a stupid screw up and I know I don't deserve you but I need you, please. I would do anything for you to forgive me; nobody means more to me than you three. You're family" he gasped desperately.

James just savagely pulled the curtains around his four poster bed and Peter mimicked the action with an apologetic glance at Sirius. Only he and Remus were left. Remus stood across the room from him and just gazed unseeingly at him for a moment as though he had never seen Sirius before.

Remus' eyes slid into focus, fixing him with the deadened stare before saying emotionlessly "some things just can't be fixed."


	4. Chapter 4

It had been almost two months since Sirius had talked to any of his three best friends, outside of being forcibly paired with them in class, and the effect was starting to show.

He had lost the will to eat, he couldn't sleep and he barely spoke unless spoken to first.

At the beginning of his separation Sirius had tried everything for them to talk to him again, even if it was just to yell, but all he ever got was deadened expressions or disgust if they ever had to look at him.

He was looking so bad that even Lily Evans stopped him in the corridor to ask him if he were alright.

Sharing a room became so unbearable for Sirius that he found himself not returning to the Common Room at night, preferring to sleep in secret places in the castle or somewhere in the forest rather than face their accusatory glares.

Not that he slept much.

He had even stopped caring about how he looked, too miserable to summon up the energy to care.

It was physically painful to be separated from his friends like that, especially James who was the first person he had ever loved like family, the first person who had thought he was worth something.

And Remus just looked so… hurt, all the time.

He wanted to explain himself. Explain how he had thought that the prank would be funny, how the lines of right and wrong had been inexplicably blurred by his family's loose morals; but he just couldn't justify it, not even to himself and trying to only made him more disgusted with himself.

Sirius had gotten so bad that even teachers began to notice during their classes.

Professor McGonagall had held him back one day and attempted to get what was making him look so lifeless out of him. He told her, his head hanging, that he missed Remus, James and Peter and that it was his own fault then he left without another word.

She, of course, had been told by Dumbledore what had happened and had thought she had no sympathy for the boy. That was until she heard how broken he had sounded when he spoke of his friends.

Sirius was, after all, a good boy, he just had a cruel sense of humour sometimes, probably due to his horrific family.

She tried to speak to James about it but, although the boy looked just as unhappy about being separated from his friend, he was adamant that Sirius was not be forgiven, not anytime soon at least.

As the days wore on Professor McGonagall could see that his conviction was fading. She would catch James throwing concerned looks at the back of his former best friend's head or she would notice Remus opening and closing his mouth, on the point of saying something but swallowing his words instead and returning to his work.

It broke her heart to see her students suffering so much.


	5. Chapter 5

During lunch was the only time Sirius ever felt safe going to his own dormitory. He knew James, Remus and Peter would be in the Great Hall and his dormitory seemed like the only safe place in the school, where he knew he could completely break down and not be interrupted.

Since his self-inflicted abandonment, Sirius had felt as though he couldn't breathe a lot of the time and when he tried to catch his breath often it would lead to hyperventilation or uncontrollable sobs.

Sirius didn't consider himself a weak man but living without his best friends, his family, was the worst pain short of their deaths that he could imagine, especially since he had never known love like this, family love, before so to have it taken away from him was unimaginably painful.

If he were having a particularly bad day he would rush up to the Gryffindor Boy's dormitory to be alone in his grief but, on one particular day, he burst through the door only to find that somebody else was in the room.

He quickly attempted to pull himself together before asking rather tactlessly "what are you doing here?" he honestly hadn't expected an answer but he was shocked when James' hesitant voice croaked back at him.

"I'mb sick. Whad are you doing here?" he asked as menacingly as his blocked nose would permit him.

Sirius was distinctly aware that he was shaking with the effort of keeping his breakdown hidden "is there anything I can do? I can take you to madam Pomfrey and-"

"No" James cut him off "I'mb find."

Sirius wanted to go over to James and force his stubborn butt out of bed and to the hospital wing like he had so many times before. When James got sick, he got seriously ill, never just a one day cold. Madam Pomfrey could fix him up in a second if he would just let Sirius take him but for now Sirius was just happy to hear James' voice directed at him, even if it were sickly and aggressive.

"Why are you shaking?" Sirius thought he detected a hint of concern behind James' contempt but he couldn't be sure.

It was getting harder and harder to push down his feelings and not cry all over James or go to him and make sure he was ok, but he forced himself to stay strong, he wasn't worth James' pity or his concern.

Sirius thought he had it all together when his knees gave out.


	6. Chapter 6

James got to him faster than he would have believed possible.

"Hey, hey, hey. Ok. Id's ok, jusd breathe, come on you can do id." Sirius was slumped with his back against the door, his arms were tightly strapped around his knees and his face was hidden in the mat his hair had become.

James was also leaning against the door for support, his sickness taking the energy he had to support his weight, but he was turned towards Sirius, with the side of his head resting heavily on the door.

"Go away" Sirius choked, not wanting James to see him like this but James stayed put, rubbing his back comfortingly until Sirius' grip on his legs loosened a little and he showed signed of relaxing.

"Yeah righd, like I'mb going anywhere" James said indignantly "I may be mad ad you and you may be an idiod but your still my friend, you're obviously having some sord of a mendal breakdown… and you look like crab" he added as an afterthought.

Sirius snorted half-heartedly "you're one to talk. Looked in a mirror lately" his half-joking tone became abruptly serious as his painful attempt at a smile faded "you're sick, you should got to the hos-"

James shifted weakly until he was facing the same direction as Sirius "I'mb nod thad sick, I'mb find" he protested.

"Note to James, 'fine' doesn't have a 'd' on the end of it."

"Fine-d… FINE-D. Damnit" James muttered, sniffing, crossing his arms like a small child as he failed to prove his point. Sirius chuckled softly before cutting himself off, he wasn't supposed to be laughing with James, he didn't deserve the breath James used to form that joke.

James tilted his head to watch Sirius' expression sink back into meltdown mode "I don't know if id's the hallucinations talking or if I jusd missed you a lod but id's been nice talking to you again." He looked down at his hands then said quietly "do you wand to try and explain?"

Sirius, whose hope had been rising through James' entire speech, nodded fervently, ran both his fingers through his dirty hair than said "I honestly don't know what I was thinking" he started croakily "Snape had just made me so angry, prying around Remus all the time when his fight's with us. It's no excuse but I just couldn't take his subtle threats about Remus anymore. I thought he deserved it at the time… How is he?" Sirius asked imploringly, obviously not talking about Snape anymore.

"I'mb not going do lie, he's nod good. He's nod even angry, he's just emodionless" Sirius flinched "he doesn't do anything besides the bare minimum. He's worse than first year." James kneaded his hands together before reaching up to mess up his hair, an unconscious move now.

There was a long silence; neither boy looked at one another until Sirius gasped. James' head snapped up but Sirius was still staring into his lap "I almost had a heart attack when I saw you…" he said quietly "I spent that whole night thinking about what could have happened… nightmares. And Remus… what it would have done to him... It was awful. I should have thought. I didn't think!" he burst out before slumping back against the door "I don't deserve your forgiveness."

James examined his face "I think you've suffered enough" Sirius looked up at him, hardly daring to believe. "I'mb still mad ad you" he sighed "bud I forgive you."

"Oh James I-"

"No, no, no" James interrupted "no more apologies, well to me ad least, id's creepy. Now you jusd have to work on everyone else."


	7. Chapter 7

Sirius opened his mouth but James was already on a roll.

"Peder won'd be doo hard do convince, he'll be happy do have you bag but Remus is really cud up aboud this, he dumped Hazel because he claimed he was 'doo dangerous' and id was 'only a madder of time' before he killed her" James rolled his eyes while Sirius cringed but brightened when James added "idiot."

"But how will I get him to forgive me, he's already looking furious in the rear view mirror" Sirius said miserably.

James shrugged "Whad do you always say?"

"Bet big or don't bother?"

"Exacdly. So even if id's a huge failure, he'll still know you care in your own weird way." James said all the while stifling a cough and trying to wipe the sweat inconspicuously from his overheating brow.

Sirius suppressed a smile "I may have a few ideas" he stared at James for a moment as his breath became more laboured before saying "Ok. Enough of this nonsense." He stood up, yanked James to his feet, hesitated, and then ducked his head under one of James' arms.

James struggled and hissed protests but Sirius stood firm "you're as weak as a kitten James, either I help you to the hospital wing like this or I carry you there, your choice."

James mumbled something about cavemen before allowing Sirius to drag him from the room.

"So whad are you going do do aboud Remus?"

"Oh I'm sure something will come to me" Sirius smiled as he manoeuvred them down the stairs.

James coughed "Good. Now go take a shower. You stink. And your hair looks like you've just escaped from Azkaban." Sirius chuckled darkly "and while you're ad id tell Peder that the potatoes are rebelling and he needs do buy the garden gnomes before the andelopes can reach the flag."

Sirius grinned "yeah I'll do that Prongs." He listened to James' nonsensical babbling all the way to the hospital wing but as much as Sirius loved hallucinatory James he couldn't help but smile affectionately at him, just happy to have at least one of his friends back.


	8. Chapter 8

Peter had hugged him when he found out Sirius was coming back to the group, or attempting to anyway, he mumbled something about stupid Ravenclaws and his books but didn't elaborate other than to stare at Sirius rather hungrily.

Sirius extricated himself from Peter, for some reason he always felt more awkward hugging Peter than he did James or Remus, maybe because it seemed a lot more… unequal coming from Peter, still he appreciated the warm welcome.

James was the last to arrive in the disused classroom they had agreed to meet in the night before. He was looking much better but greeted them both with a business-like demeanour and a tight smile that Sirius knew meant he wasn't altogether forgiven.

He didn't care, he'd take anything.

James marched over to the board at the head of the classroom they had managed to sneak into and wrote the word 'IDEAS' in the centre of it.

He turned to face Sirius, who was looking more attentively at the board than he had ever done in his entire stint at Hogwarts, and Peter who was on the verge of complaining about how hungry he was.

"Ok" James began "so what do we got? Peter?"

Peter turned red, he'd never liked being called on. "Chocolate gift basket?" he suggested nervously. James smiled but shook his head a little.

"Nice start Pete but it's a little small, we've gotta do something big. I reckon we might be able to convince Hazel to take him back but it's whether he reacts well to that or not" James said while swiftly writing 'chocolates' and 'Hazel' on the board around the brainstorm he had written 'ideas' in.

They spent a short time brainstorming, with James writing, then connecting each point with lightning bolts, before he turned back to face Sirius who hadn't contributed for quite a while.

Sirius was thinking deeply, staring at his hands before a thought struck him, a crazy thought "What about project McGonagall?" he suggested quietly.

James and Peter turned to stare at him.

"It's perfect." He added standing up.

"It's crazy" James said apprehensively.

"It'll work" Sirius replied calmly, his eyes sparking just like when he came up with a particularly spectacular prank. James had missed that look.

James hesitated, "Mate I know we've talked about it before and had some… attempts, but… we haven't tried in a while. It could go wrong. Badly wrong."

"It's worth the risk." Sirius said softly

"You know you're mental right?"

"Yep."

"Then you've come to the right place." Sirius grinned at his best friend who returned it after only a moment's pause "we've got about ten days to get this done or we'll have to wait another month. You ready?"

"Doesn't matter. I'll get it."


	9. Chapter 9

Sirius' heart was pounding, he had only just gotten it completely right the night before and that was with James muttering every protection spell under the sun in case it took a turn for the worse.

He found it hard to worry though, not knowing how it felt when it worked and he had a feeling it was like riding a broom, once you've learnt you will always be able to do it.

Remus had disappeared earlier that night to sneak subtly into the hole beneath the Whomping Willow.

If Sirius' plan succeeded, not only will Remus' transformation be less painful but he wouldn't have to be alone and this would prove, once and for all that Sirius trusted him completely and could be trusted in return.

He waited impatiently, half-hidden in the forbidden forest as he watched Remus bolt towards the Whomping Willow, prod the knot with a long stick that he'd found nearby, usually placed there by him earlier, then darted underneath it.

Sirius glanced at his watch. He was cutting it fine, but Remus always got there on time.

Sirius padded out from the cover of the shadows and loped gracefully towards the secret passageway. He was able to slip in fairly easily; the rest was just a matter of quietly creeping and hoping for the best.

He waited patiently downstairs while Remus prepared as well as he could for the torture that he was about to go through.

It was absolute agony for Sirius to hear his friend's screams and be absolutely powerless to help; he had to consciously force himself to stay where he was, seated behind a ruined armchair with his nails gouging deep lines into the wood.

When all Sirius could hear was growling and rough panting he bolted upstairs to meet Remus, not feeling fearful in the least.

He nosed the door open to spot the emaciated looking werewolf with no trace of his friend in the beasts' eyes.

At least not until it caught sight of the massive black dog in the doorway.

For a moment Sirius thought everything would be alright, was even proud of himself for the outcome… then the wolf lunged at him.


	10. Chapter 10

Remus woke up feeling more rested then he'd ever had after one of his danger nights, his head wasn't pounding like usual and there weren't as many scratches on his arms as usual and none on his face which was quite unusual.

He sat up cautiously in case of broken bones and glanced around the Shrieking Shack where the sun streaked through gaps in the walls and ceiling like tiny spotlights scattered all over the floor.

He paused in his cursory glance when he spotted a large dog lying in the centre of the room. It wasn't too odd, animals did sometimes wander into the Shack, but something about this dog made Remus pull on his clothes a lot faster than he normally would have.

Remus edged closer to the dog, unable to throw the feeling that something was wrong with it. As he got closer Remus saw a tiny note taped to the ground in front of it.

'Wake me when you're decent - S'

Remus could only stare at the note for a moment, his heart pounding in his throat, before curiosity got the better of him. He nudged the dog until it opened one big black eye.

He could only gape as the big black dog changed into his grinning friend… grinning ex-friend who straightened up to stand in front of him.

"I can't believe you-" he cut off, motioning wordlessly at Sirius, who was tugging on his belt loop, a clear sign he was nervous. "What-?"

"James helped" Sirius said abruptly "and Peter. We've been wanting to try this since we first found out… and I wanted you to see… to know that I care and that I'm sorry. So unbelievably so-"

Remus punched him, square in the face. Sirius hit the ground hard, his head spinning; he took a deep breath then moved to stand up.

"Ok I deserved that" he acknowledged, trying not to sway on his feet.

Remus punched him again. Sirius couldn't stifle a startled cry, hitting the ground again. He stayed down longer than before but eventually pushed himself to his feet, standing up once more.

"I guess I deserved that too" Remus punched him once more, the Shrieking Shack spiralled but he got up again. "Ok I'm not sure I deserved that one" he groaned rubbing his head and jaw but leaving himself open for another attack.

Remus stepped forward and unexpectedly hugged him "And I definitely didn't deserve that" Sirius sighed as he sank into the hug.


	11. Chapter 11

Remus stepped back, wiping his eyes inconspicuously "you- you could have gotten yourself killed" he said thickly "you're so stupid. Why are you so stupid?" Sirius smiled ruefully, half expecting another punch.

Sirius watched patiently as Remus bit his thumb nervously and began to pace back and forth on the creaky floorboards of the Shrieking Shack. He came to a stop by the window, a thin sliver of light illuminating his face.

"I can't believe you did that for me" he said softly.

Sirius tried not to smile "James and Peter helped. I asked them to help me get it first so that I could be the one…" somehow the words 'to test and see if you'd rip me to shreds' didn't seem like the right words "… to be there for you."

"Your arm" Remus gasped, suddenly spotting the fading scratch with horror "what happened? Will you-?"

"No I wasn't human at the time" Sirius rushed to assure him "it was just… play fighting. You know, you really are a softie even as a werewolf, you let me win and everything…"

Remus took a deep breath, eyes closed, then sighed "I'm kind of obligated to forgive you now aren't I?" he smiled shyly at Sirius who shook his head.

"Not if you don't want to, not if you're still mad" they were hard words to say but Sirius knew how important this was. He was not going to patch things up haphazardly.

Remus paused, staring out into the daylight "I'm not even that angry at you for endangering James and Severus' lives or the guilt it would have caused me, well I am but I should be far angrier about that, but no, it's not really that. Though it does play a part Sirius. It's the fact that you did the one thing you said you'd never do after I told you, James and Peter. You exposed my secret. Sure Snape had speculations but he didn't know for sure… now he does. I'm honestly shocked he hasn't told all the Slytherins and had me removed from the school." Remus rubbed his face wearily.

Sirius smiled tentatively "Don't be daft Remy they can't kick you out… Hogwart's grade average would plummet."

Remus managed a small chuckle before he returned to being serious "no more attacking Severus. I mean it. It's time I man-up, I've been quiet for far too long."

"Can I at least retaliate?" Sirius asked feeling sick at the thought of being unable to defend himself against his worst rival outside his family.

"Not unless it's a duel" Remus decreed in his best prefect's voice "and not to pranks, I don't care how angry you are."

Sirius nodded "fine. He pulls rubbish pranks anyway." Remus rolled his eyes "And you're more important than a prank. Obviously" he tacked on lamely.

"Friends?" Sirius asked hopefully.

Remus rolled his eyes "who else is going to stop you from doing something criminally stupid?"

"James was never all that good at stopping me, too busy helping me plan, and Pete's a pushover so I guess it's all up to you." Sirius grinned cheekily "come on Remus, help me be a less terrible person."

Remus snorted "come on idiot; let's get you out of here before you try to get yourself killed again… or worse"

"Worse?"

"Expelled."


	12. Chapter 12

Things didn't go back to normal.

Not immediately anyway.

But Sirius was happy with what he got; his friends could take all the time in the world to forgive him as long as they were still his friends.

It did hurt not to be completely forgiven though, especially by James, but he imagined if he just gave his friends time they would be ok.

Oh how wrong he was.

Really Sirius should have known that time was not the way a Marauder healed.

He really should have seen it coming when he asked James for the thousandth time if there was anything he could do to be forgiven and James' face had cracked into a terrifying evil little smile as he got slowly to his feet.

He looked down at Sirius whose eyes widened at the expression on his face "oh I was hoping you'd say that."

And with that he stepped up to stand on his seat and simply waited expectantly for the buzz of the Hall to die down.

For some unexplainable reason the Hall fell completely silent, each student turning their heads in James' direction as he waited patiently for their attention.

Professor McGonagall's first instinct was to order James to get down from there but when she glimpsed the almost hopeful look in Sirius Black's eyes, she couldn't help but hover hesitantly at the teacher's table instead and decide to only intervene if absolutely necessary.

James cleared his throat into the silence. "Now some of you may have noticed that the fight between our little friend group has been somewhat fixed… but, although the offending party has been mostly forgiven" he glanced slyly at Sirius "that doesn't change the fact that I, and to a lesser extent, Remus, are still furious at said friend's actions."

He paused, all attention still fixed on James "Anyway" he grinned "instead of dwelling Remus, Peter and I all agreed on a way to speed up the forgiveness and since Sirius just told me he would do ANYTHING for us to forgive him, he has also agreed, by default."

James' grin widened and took on a decidedly evil quality. He turned to Sirius before announcing to the waiting crowd "so, without further ado I, James Potter, declare the last ever Open Season on Sirius Lee Black."

Some gasped, remembering the last three Open Seasons, some laughed but all four tables buzzed with hundreds of prank ideas to use against Sirius during the Open Season which he could do absolutely nothing to retaliate for an entire month due to his own rules set up with his so-called friends.

Sirius simply looked amused "My middle name isn't Lee, idiot."

"I know but wouldn't it be funny if it was?" James smirked.

Sirius looked thoughtfully at the expressions on all the faces of everyone he had annoyed or hurt or pranked over the years, there was A LOT of them, and felt a small creep of fear when he thought of what was done to the last three people the Marauders had unanimously agreed to use an Open Season on.

"Ok, ok" James called over the excited murmuring of the crowd, "you all know the rules. It's a complete no holds barred for the next month, starting in half an hour. All pranks are welcome but no bodily or horribly emotional damage is to be done… well no permanent bodily damage and only a little emotional scarring but absolutely no torture, little league Death Eaters we're looking at you."

James' stern expression at this statement melted as he turned to the teacher's table "of course teachers are welcome to contribute" he added with a wink "so… let the games begin" he flashed one last grin before stepping down from his seat to slip back into it.

Sirius sucked in a deep breath before turning to face James' smug expression with some trepidation "Will this make you forgive me?" he sighed resignedly. Peter blushed, Remus simply flicked some toast at him with a grin while James' self-satisfied smile melted into something that seemed much more like affection before nodding.

"In that case" Sirius stated confidently, standing up fluidly and flinging his arms wide "COME AT ME BRO!"

Sirius knew he was in for a month full of hell but one glance at his beaming friends told him it would all be well worth it.

Another glance told him that he was extremely lucky he knew all the secret entrances, exits and passageways to the school and his friends' class schedules because he was going to need them all.

Sirius took off down the aisle towards the Great Hall's massive doors.

He only had a fifteen minute head start and James and Remus had been thinking of this for a while, not to mention all the people vying for long awaited revenge were already looking at him like he was a piece of bacon and they hadn't had food for months.

Turns out it was Sirius who needed more time in the end.

Though he finally had his friends back and that was worth all the horrible, twisted pranks in the world that he was about to endure.

Now all he needed was a way to get the slime out of his underwear.

Any suggestions?


End file.
